The investment in new offshore wind projects would go up by three times by 2030 in new coal- and gas-fired power plants, the report mentioned 

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has underscored that the energy landscape is poised for significant transformation by 2030, as per current policy settings. Notable shifts include an anticipated tenfold increase in the number of electric cars on the global road network. This insight is part of the IEA’s recently released ‘World Energy Outlook 2023.’ The report predicts that the share of renewables in the global electricity mix will climb from the present 30 per cent to a remarkable 50 per cent by 2030.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol emphasizes the inevitability of the clean energy transition, stating, “The transition to clean energy is happening worldwide and it’s unstoppable. It’s not a question of ‘if’, it’s just a matter of ‘how soon’ — and the sooner, the better for all of us.” A pivotal aspect of this transition is the substantial increase in investment in new offshore wind projects, expected to surge by threefold by 2030, surpassing investments in new coal- and gas-fired power plants. Current policy settings project renewables contributing 80per cent to new power-generation capacity by 2030. Notably, solar power alone is anticipated to account for over half of this expansion.

However, the IEA report highlights that achieving the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius would require even more robust measures, in addition to countries fulfilling their national energy and climate commitments on schedule. This shift towards cleaner energy technologies, coupled with structural economic changes globally, is poised to have a profound impact on the fossil fuel industry. Peaks in global demand for coal, oil, and natural gas are anticipated within this decade. As a result, the share of fossil fuels in the global energy supply, which has remained at around 80per cent for decades, is expected to decline to 73 per cent by 2030. Furthermore, global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are projected to peak by 2025, according to the IEA report.

 The report emphasises the critical role of international cooperation in accelerating clean energy transitions, particularly in the context of financing sustainable solutions to meet the rising energy demands of fast-growing economies worldwide. The outlook indicates the imperative nature of strengthened collaboration and cooperation on a global scale, as a retreat from such efforts is counterproductive to the advancement of clean energy solutions.